A Representative to our Congress (or any elected position) should be well versed in the Constitution and the Bible. How do we know who is and who isn't? We have to understand the basics ourselves, and as this is something our government-run schools no longer teach we have to study on our own and ensure our children also learn.

A candidate for public office should fear God more than government, fear the Wrath of God more than the wrath of special interest groups, and stand on the basic principles that made this the greatest nation on Earth. Principles such as our rights are a gift from our Creator and government was created to protect them. Principles like trade and friendly relations with all nations who wish, entangling alliances with none, and ensuring government remains strictly limited to those functions required of it in the supreme law of this country. An extremely insightful man in our past named Horatio Bunce once said ".the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions.1" Knowing the principles of a sound monetary system, understanding that all men can be tempted and are potentially corruptible, and the fact that the rights of the individual trump the wants of the many are also important.

How do we find people like this? To start with, most of those who seek public office are not qualified. They seek public office for mostly for selfish reasons; money, power, and influence topping the list. The best candidates are quiet, unassuming men who avoid the spotlight. We have to seek them out and convince them to make the necessary sacrifices for the nation and their fellow man.

The first thing for the individual to do is learn these principles, so they can judge each candidate for themselves. Where do we find this information? Your first stop should be the Bible. It contains the blueprint for every aspect of life, both public and private. Then read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates. Look up Frederic Bastiat's The Law for the most understandable essay on the proper role of government I have ever found. Read what was written by the Founders and find out what they were reading and discussing. Most if not all of these are available on the Web for free. If anyone wishes, send me an email and I will provide the link to a site with many of these documents.

A lady asked Benjamin Franklin after the Convention what type of government they had created. His reply was "A Republic, if you can keep it." Keeping it requires sacrifices. Thankfully we do not have to make the same ones the signers of the Declaration made, we just have to give up some time, money, and energy to regain what we have lost.

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Pat Baska 

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